Declaring that the use of excessive force by law enforcement "is not to be tolerated in a free society," U.S. District Judge Lance Africk imposed lengthy prison sentences Thursday on two former New Orleans police officers who were convicted in December, one for shooting an Algiers man without justification in the days after Hurricane Katrina and the second for incinerating a car containing the man's corpse.

Both men came in for stern tongue-lashings. Africk called McRae's behavior "barbaric," saying it was "unforgivable" to burn Glover's body -- particularly for a 26-year police veteran.

"At some point, you lost your compass," Africk said.

Warren's claim that the unarmed Glover, a suspected looter, posed a threat was "spurious," the judge said. "Henry Glover was not at the strip mall to commit suicide. He was there to retrieve some baby clothing."

The sentences were by far the stiffest yet imposed on any of the 20 police officers who have been charged in a series of federal civil rights cases that allege police used unwarranted force against civilians. Most of these charges stem from the days immediately following Katrina, when both NOPD officers and civilians were struggling to survive.

The case against the five officers accused of participating in either the shooting or the coverup of Glover's death was the first of those cases to go to trial.

Along with Warren and McRae, jurors also convicted Lt. Travis McCabe, who has since been fired, of helping to cover up the circumstances of Glover's death. However, McCabe's sentencing has been delayed so that Africk can hold a hearing to evaluate the officer's request for a new trial.

Two officers, Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann and former Lt. Robert Italiano, were acquitted. Scheuermann, who is still on the force, was in the courtroom Thursday as Warren and McRae were sentenced.

Warren faced a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while McRae faced a maximum of 50 years. Federal defendants are required to serve 85 percent of their sentences.

Warren, who has been incarcerated since his arrest last June, wore a green jail jumpsuit and was bound by shackles. McRae, clad in a tie and a blue blazer, was taken into custody immediately after Africk pronounced his sentence.

In court filings and during the Thursday hearing, attorneys for both men asked Africk to consider the difficult circumstances their clients were forced to endure after the storm.

Frank DeSalvo, McRae's attorney, said his client left his Katrina experience with post-traumatic stress disorder. DeSalvo told Africk that before Sept. 2, 2005, the day Glover was shot, McRae saved many people's lives.

Warren declined to address the judge, but McRae spoke for a few minutes, apologizing to both the Glover and Warren families for burning the car.

"I pray for the Glover family daily. I also pray for all the victims of Katrina," he said.

Glover's mother and sister, who appeared emotionally overwrought, also stood at the courtroom's podium briefly, asking Africk to impose the maximum sentences allowed by law.

"I forgive these men," said Edna Glover, the victim's mother, while holding a picture of her son. "If I don't, Jesus won't forgive me."

Africk told each defendant that he had read all of the letters sent to him by friends and family. The judge noted that he had received many letters that said that Warren's conviction would cause officers to be more apt to question their right to protect themselves during chaotic events in the future.

"I reject that argument," Africk said. "First, the premise of that argument is flawed. In this case, as the jury determined, you were not forced to respond to Mr. Glover with deadly force," he told Warren.

A rookie police officer at the time of the storm, Warren had been guarding a police substation on the second floor of a strip mall in Algiers on Sept. 2, 2005.

Warren shot Glover either as he approached the substation or as he ran away, after the officer shouted for him to leave. During the trial, Warren testified he shot at the man because he believed his life was in danger.

Glover and a friend had gone to the mall in a stolen truck to retrieve some items looted by friends. Prosecutors said Glover was trying to retrieve supplies for his family.

After Glover was shot, he was picked up by William Tanner, a good Samaritan who drove him to a nearby police encampment for medical aid. Tanner and others said police there took them into custody instead of providing aid to the wounded Glover.

Later, officers drove away in Tanner's car -- with Glover's body inside. McRae admitted during the trial that he parked the car on the levee and burned it with a roadway flare. On the stand, during the trial, McRae told jurors he burned the body because he could not tolerate seeing another dead body.

It took nearly a year for Glover's remains to be identified, and it wasn't until after the publication of a series of news stories starting in December 2008 that the manner of Glover's death was known.

Africk told McRae that his actions contributed as much as those of Warren to the distress of the Glover family and their inability to get over Henry's death. Because of McRae, Africk said, the last photo the Glover family has of him is that "of a pile of bones," provoking a gasp from the victim's family members in the audience.

Africk ordered Warren to pay about $7,600 in restitution to the Glover family to compensate them for the dead man's funeral costs. McRae was ordered to pay $6,000 to Tanner for his destroyed car.

Some supporters of the Glover family complained outside the courthouse that the sentences imposed on the two former officers were too short.

But U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, whose office prosecuted the men along with an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division, said the prison terms were "significant" and would send a "powerful message" to law enforcement officers about the federal government's commitment to preserving citizens' constitutional rights.

Staff writer Brendan McCarthy contributed to this report. Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316.